Police are investigating an early morning shooting that occurred outside a city restaurant. Paterson police

PATERSON — A 21-year-old Paterson man was shot outside a city restaurant on Friday morning after telling the shooter that he didn't have anything to steal, police said.

The victim, who police would not identify, was shot in the arm after leaving a restaurant at Park and Madison avenues, Detective Lt. Patrick Murray said in a release. A man in a dark-colored sweat suit approached him near the Crown Fried Chicken on Park Avenue and demanded the victim's property, Murray said.

When the victim told the man he didn't have anything on him, the man pulled out a handgun, Murray said. The victim tried to run away, and the man shot him in the arm, he said.

At 4:30 a.m., police found the victim near 17th Avenue and Pennington Street. He was taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, where he remains in stable condition, Murray said. Police received reports of the shooting, as well as notifications from the city's ShotSpotter gunshot alert system.

Murray told NJ.com it wasn't clear whether or not the victim had bought anything from the restaurant before encountering the shooter.

Anyone with information on the incident should call Detectives Aramis Alba or Francisco Brito of the Ceasefire Unit at 973-321-1342.